European Union regulators released preliminary findings that TikTok's constant flow of content puts users' brains into "autopilot mode." The social network has strongly rejected the accusations.

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47006290

TikTok’s “addictive design” is in breach of European Union law, according to preliminary findings published by the European Commission on Friday.

It said addictive features included infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and TikTok’s own “highly personalized” content recommendation system.

The European Commission also alleged TikTok failed in adequately assessing “how these addictive features could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults.”

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  • Zahille7@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    21 hours ago

    I know adults that are addicted to that shit. Like they pull out their phone as soon as they pull up to a stoplight kind of addicted.

  • Motocolpittz@piefed.caEnglish
    191·
    1 day ago

    I watched my ex who was struggling with depression fall into a 3 hour tik tok/reel binge every night. She was like a zombie. I try to avoid this style of media. It seems to be to be designs to grab and hold your attention. Scary shit.

      • Motocolpittz@piefed.caEnglish
        1·
        23 hours ago

        I love YouTube and follow some great channels. When I open the app it opens right up to a reel. I need to figure out how to turn that off.

        • photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          18 hours ago

          Use alternative mobile clients and desktop Frontends like pipepipe and freetube. They let you watch what you actually want to watch without distractions.

        • eli@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          22 hours ago

          You can’t, as far as I know. I’ve switched to just using my web browser and I bookmark the channels I watch(specifically their “videos” tab). I open up 3-4 channels at a time and see if they have anything new and go from there. Been doing this for 10 years now because the YouTube algorithm is balls.

  • Eugenia@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    24 hours ago

    I have tried to get… addicted to this short form video thing (through IG reels, and Youtube shorts, I don’t have tiktok), without success. I just don’t see what people find in it. Sure, it’s fun for about 5 minutes, no more than that. I use IG to follow my favorite artists only, and youtube for recipes, philosophical conversations, NDE reports, and other metaphysical stuff. I can’t stand people dancing or AI cats baking bread.

    • Zahille7@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      21 hours ago

      My YouTube shorts are usually quick lore videos of some game I’ve been playing, like Halo.

      My Instagram shorts are full of ethots and tiddie goth gfs because I’m weak.